The Clippers needed to be perfect, or something like it, if they hoped to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder and reclaim the top spot in the NBA's overall standings. They weren't close because they lacked the one man who could direct them to a flawless game.

When the game suddenly and unexpectedly got tight in the fourth quarter, the Clippers couldn't complete their rally and the Thunder held on for a 109-97 victory on Tuesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 19,451 at Staples Center.

"Chris is the orchestrator," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said of injured point guard Chris Paul, who didn't play for the fourth time in six games because of a bruised right kneecap "He orchestrates everything on the court. We miss him for sure. There's no way to replace him."

Eric Bledsoe took Paul's spot as the Clippers' starting point guard, but couldn't provide the required direction against the league-leading Thunder. Bledsoe had his moments, and the Clippers took the good (12 points) with the bad (5-for-16 shooting).

The Clippers did a credible job on Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant in the first half, holding him to eight points on 3-for-8 shooting. Not coincidentally, the Thunder led the Paul-less Clippers only 49-45 at halftime.

It wouldn't stay that close for long, however.

Durant erupted for 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the third quarter and then added 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the fourth. He torched all comers, leading the Thunder to leads that swelled to as many as 16 points in the third quarter and 17 in the final period.

Durant finished with a team-leading 32 points, one more than the Clippers' Blake Griffin scored.

Russell Westbrook, a former UCLA standout, added 26 points for the Thunder.

Durant applied what looked like the clincher, a driving dunk that gave the Thunder a 101-85 lead after the Clippers had drawn within seven points only moments earlier. Staples Center crackled with energy as the Clippers rallied, but Durant's dunk was a buzz-killer.

Then, moments later, the Clippers were back in it again. They trailed 105-97 after Griffin sank two free throws with 1:30 remaining. But the Clippers (32-11) got no closer and fell to third place in the NBA behind the Thunder (33-9) and the San Antonio Spurs (33-11).

"I didn't think we had a very efficient game on the defensive end, for sure, and I thought we were a little stagnant offensively at times," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Obviously, we didn't have our general out there (Paul), but that's no excuse.

"We know how much Chris makes a difference, but we're not going to use that as an excuse at all. I have a lot of confidence in the guys that played tonight. We just didn't play as well as we needed to. Chris is going to be out, but other guys have to step up and we've got to play better."

Meanwhile, the Clippers' normally effective second unit didn't provide its usual jolt of energy upon entering the game and the Thunder capitalized to start the second quarter. Kevin Martin, with 11 points in the first half, and Nick Collison, with eight points, led a surge by the Thunder's reserves.

Oklahoma City took the lead to start the second quarter and held it the rest of the way. The Thunder led by as many as nine points before settling for a four-point edge by halftime. The Clippers' biggest lead was 12-4 midway through the first quarter.

With Thunder center Kendrick Perkins in early foul trouble, the Clippers went inside to Griffin and he responded with 16 points in the first half. It wasn't as easy as it might have seemed, however, with Collison replacing Perkins and providing defensive help to Serge Ibaka.

Griffin was the Clippers' only consistent scorer, however.

"A couple of guys struggled to score," Del Negro said. "Obviously, Blake was very effective in a lot of areas (adding 11 rebounds and five assists to his team-leading 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting), but overall we weren't sharp enough at both ends, or efficient enough."